It’s Spring, and The Houseboats Are Coming Out in Seattle

We had an early glimpse of Spring with the past few weeks of warm weather, and the feeling has created an early push in the waterfront real estate market. Sales of Seattle waterfront homes are strongly associated with the Spring and Summer selling seasons, and it looks like the listings are starting to pick up a bit before the March 20 start date for Spring 2010.

Seattle Floating Home Lifestyle

While there are usually only 15-25 Seattle houseboats and floating homes listed for sale at any one time, there were seven new listings that came on the market in the past month. Almost half of these homes were also at the more affordable end of the spectrum, coming in under $200,000.

These homes can be great candidates for the home buyer tax credit (must be under contract by April 30), as they can be primary homes and the $6500 for move-up buyers or $8000 for first-time buyers can take a large chunk out of the purchase price. Of course, consult your tax advisor (IRS document re: houseboats as primary homes).

Most houseboats and floating homes need to be on owned moorage to be financed, so investigating the marina and slip are important if you’re not making a cash purchase.

Westlake Ave Lake Union Houseboat

The lowest-priced new listing is a river boat in the South Park Marina, coming in under $100,000. Moving up to Lake Union, the most affordable houseboats are two newer Mike Kelly boats on Westlake Ave N and N Northlake Way, listed at $169,000 and $185,000, respectively. These are the least-expensive Lake Union homes available, with two bedrooms a 3/4 bath, and modern living spaces.

Northlake Way Wallingford Houseboat on Lake Union

As we move into the $300,000+ range, the new listings become owned-moorage houseboats and floating homes. There are another two homes on Westlake and Northlake. These residences are on condominiumized or co-op moorage, and take an ownership equity in the property, allowing for financing and real estate taxes to be written off.

Houseboat living on the top deck

In Eastlake, a floating home listed just under $500k came on the market this month on Fairview Ave. A 2nd Fairview Ave home was listed in the $700k range. Eastlake’s floating homes quickly move into the $2 million category with good moorage and views of downtown Seattle. This is the most exclusive Lake Union floating community.

Home sales in Seattle seem to be picking up in general, and it’s likely that a continued strong market would push more home sellers into listing their homes for now. Following the end of the tax credit, we’ll get a more clear picture of the future of our real estate market in Seattle.

Sam DeBord is a licensed real estate broker with SeattleHome.com, a division of Washington State Realty, LLC. He is a member of the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors and a Green-Certified Pro. Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.